Improvement in harvesters



JOHN r. MANNY, onnOoKFOnD, ILLINOIs.

I'M PROVEM ENT IN HARVESTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 112,942, dated March '21, 1871i.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN l?. MANNY, of Rockford, in the county of Winnebago and State'of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Harvesters, of which the following is a specification:

The improvements lherein claimed relate to devices for adjusting the height of the cutting apparatus and the inclination of the guardfingers.

In the accompanying drawing the improvements herein claimed are shown as embodied in a harvesting-machine similar in its general features to that shown and described in sundry Letters Patent of the United States heretofore granted to me, more especially those dated March 25, 1862, and June l5, 1869.

Figure l represents a plan view of so much of my improved harvester as is necessary to illustrate the invention herein claimed. Fig. 2 represents an elevation of the same as seen from the divider side of the machine, with the divider shown in dotted lines; Fig. 3, a side elevation of the caster-wheel and its appurtenances on the gearing side of the machine.

In this instance a drivin g-wheel, A, is shown as fixed on a shaft, a, turning in a long pipebox or bearing, A', on a triangular-shaped gearing-frame, B. A tongue, C, is pivoted to lugs o on the pipe-box A', so that the tongue freely may rise and fall. A seat, D, for ,the driver, is mounted on this tongue.

The rear end of the gear-frame B is pivoted to brackets e el projecting from the fingerbeam E, so as to form a joint at e2. A lever, F, fixed to the finger-beam, extends forward across the joint to the driver's seat, to enable the driver, from his seat, to raise or lower the cutting apparatus. A b ar, F', on the gearframe, has holes in it, through which pins may be inserted to hold the lever F in any desired position; or the same result may be attained by any of the usual well-known forms of detents.

In order to sustain the heel end of the ngerbeam, I employ a caster-wheel, G, of vwellknown construction, and I render the ngerbeam adjustable up or down in the following manner: I pivot the arm g of the caster-wheel to a lug on the bracket el, so that the arm may be free to rise and fall, and suspend the fingerbeam from this arm by a screwed spindle, g', and a nut. The yokev of -the caster-Wheel is pivoted to another arm, g2, overlapping. theto keep the guards horizontal when cutting at any height required in practice, but also to adjust the caster-pivot 3 into a vertical position, and thus prevent the dropping of the finger-beam when the machine is backed or turned. The divider end of the finger-beam is also sustained by a grain-wheel, H, having adjustments somewhat similar to those just described, but modified to adapt the grainwheel to meet otherdemands imposed upon it by the nature of its work.

I, by preference, employ, when mowing, a small metal divider, I, strongly secured to the finger-beam. The ripper rear end of this divider is rounded and corrugated transverselyv to receive the socket t' of an arm, h. This socket is concave, slotted, and provided with a set-screw, i', which clamps the socket and divider together, and thus holds the arm 7L at any desired elevation.

The yoke of the caster-wheel is pivoted .by a bolt, 4, to an arm, h', clamped by a screw, 5, to the arm h. The inner sides of these arms are corrugated radially from the bolt, so that they may hold without slipping in any position in which they may be clamped.

In reaping, a large caster-wheel is used, also a supplementary divider, I'.

By means of the devices above described the divider end of the finger-beam can be kept level, and prevented from dropping upon the ground when turning backward, in the same manner as the stubble end.

When mowing I remove the supplementary divider and grain-wheel, set the arm h nearly horizontal, and attach a smaller caster-wheel to the arm h'. The large divider and grainwheel work well in straight grass and on soft Wheelbwork better in lodged and tangled grasses.

The heel end of the nger-beam may be supported by a caster-Wheel and its appurtenances, such as I have just described; and the divider'end may likewise be sustained by an arrangement of devices like that shown at the heel end of the finger-beam, and still do good work. V

As the other parts of the machine are fully described in other applications for Letters Patent, of which this is a division, itis deemed unnecessary to describe them in detail here, it being,` deemed suiicient to state that my improvements are to be embodied in a fully-organized Workin g machine.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination, with the linger-beam,

of the caster-Wheel and its arms g g2 and screwed spindle7 for supporting and adjustingthe heel end of the finger-beam, .these parts being constructed, as set forth, for joint opery ation.

2. The combination, With the divider, of the doubly adjustable arm, constructed as described, and adapted to receive caster-Wheels of different sizes, and still to keep the guards horizontal, as set forth.

3. The combination, as described, oi' the drivin g-Wheel, hinged gear-frame, ngenbeam, lifting-lever, the caster-Wheels Gr II, and their adjustable arms, all constructed, as set forth,

for joint operation.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto sub-` scribed my name.

- JOHN l?. MANNY.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM G. BLINN, LEWIS A. WEYBURN. 

